Kirk Yetholm

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Kirk Yetholm is a village in the Scottish Borders, Scotland, about 8 miles southeast of Kelso and less than a mile west of the border with England. It sits opposite its sister village, Town Yetholm, across the Bowmont Water. In 2001, the population of the two villages was 591.

Historically, Kirk Yetholm was the headquarters of the Romanichal travellers (Gypsies) in Scotland, who settled there around 1750. The last King of the Gypsies, Charles Faa Blyth Rutherford, was crowned in 1898 and died in 1902. Today the travellers have merged into the wider community, and a memorial stone on the village green marks the history.

Kirk Yetholm is the northern end of the Pennine Way, with the Border Hotel marking the end of that trail. It is also the southern end of the Scottish National Trail. Saint Cuthbert's Way passes through the village, linking Melrose to Lindisfarne.

In 1942 the village school became a Scottish Youth Hostels Association hostel and is now the Kirk Yetholm Friends of Nature House, providing accommodation for walkers and cyclists. The house lies along the Pennine Way, Saint Cuthbert's Way, the Scottish National Trail, Sustrans National Cycle Route 1, and the Scottish Borders Loop.

The first Saturday in October is the Yetholm Border Shepherds' Show, held on land between Town Yetholm and Kirk Yetholm; the 2019 show was the 156th edition. The area has inspired songs and poetry, including "Yetholm Day" by Gary Cleghorn and The Gipsies by Will H. Ogilvie, who grew up nearby.

Information about Kirk Yetholm Gypsies can be found with the Hawick Archaeological Society.